"Dr. Nazarian has a very quiet nature and is very patient. His quiet, easy demeanor put me at ease. No question was dumb. He wants you to ask as many questions as possible. He will even draw pictures if it helps you to understand the procedure better. I connected with him right away! Each time I saw him in the office, I felt more comfortable talking to him. I liked his office staff very much. The one thing I most disliked was how they scheduled appointments. Patients were stacked back-to-back. The wait sometimes was almost two hours to see him but if you bring a good book to read that helps. Also, you should take this opportunity to talk to other patients who've gone through the procedure. A lot of questions that could have caused me anxiety were diminished just from sitting in the doctor's office talking to people who were one or two years post-op and looked and felt great! I was really encouraged by these people.
I suggest you bring a list of questions each time you make a visit to see the doctor so you won't forget once you finally get in to see him. He really stressed aftercare and the importance of changing your eating habits, taking care of your incision, etc. He was very direct about the risk of surgery. He didn't hold anything back. He knew I was coming back to China shortly after having my surgery. He prepared my incision using sutures that dissolve. My incision really looks nice. I didn't have any problems with it whatsoever. I give Dr. Nazarian and "excellent" rating overall. His surgical competence and bedside manner were both great!"
"Overall my stay was very positive. I did have some problems with understanding some of the nursing staff. Many of the nurses are from other countries and do not speak English very clearly. Thankfully I had an easier time coping with communicating with them since I teach English in China for the last three years. But for others it might be stressful in getting your point across to them along with trying to understand what some of them are saying to you.
Pain management-They had me on Morphine continuous drip and it made me feel extremely anxious after a couple of days. I think it was too much for my system. The anesthesiologist was very helpful in getting my medication changed to something more comfortable for me. I also had two hernia repairs at the time of my RNY and I was very comfortable.
Chairs-I wasn't comfortable in the chairs in the rooms. The hospital should consider LazyBoy recliners or softer chairs for their patients afer surgery. It was extremely uncomfortable for me to sleep in a bed after surgery. But overall I received good care and am grateful to the staff for everything they did for me!"
